Share it:

The Soccer & Footballs History – The Beginings

We can see from history that as a species we love a kick about. Balls have been used in various forms by many cultures across human time.

The Mesoamericans made rubber balls and played games that may of had ritualistic significance. Although the art of manufacturing usable rubber was not discovered by the western world for centuries to come.

There are many references in both legend and historical writings, that early balls were made from a variety of things including both animal and human skulls , tied up cloth,stitched leather, the bladders of livestock and even human heads, hair and all!

The Romans have documented games using air filled balls and the Greeks played a ball game using both their feet and hands, more rugby football than soccer.

The Chinese had their own version of the beautiful game called ‘tsu chu’ or cujo literally kick ball. In the Ts’in and Han dynasties a ball made of leather was kicked through a hole in a piece of silk strung between posts into a net.

The Japanese game was called kemari, once again a ball of leather was used and the game consisted of a circle of players trying to keep the ball from touching the ground. A kind of oriental keepie uppie.

Footeball

Contemporary evidence from the 1400’s in England talks of the game of ‘ footeball’ being a violent game with little or no rules. Played between villages, or streets of a city, kicking a ball made from an animal bladder from one square to the next. There are accounts of the game being banned by the king it was so bad.

Inflated Pig Bladder

The game developed from there and as such the balls had to develop also. The next generation of ball would be more recognizable to us. The animal bladders were covered in leather to hold their shape better.